Ohio champions clash in Buckeye Native, while future state stars go in Hoover

There will be some things old and some things new on Friday’s card at Belterra Park. The co-features on the nine-race card are the $75,000 Buckeye Native for Ohio-accredited 3-year-olds and up on the turf, which includes state honorees Mobil Solution and Big Truck, and the $75,000 Hoover Stakes for 2-year-old runners, all making their stakes debuts.

Mobil Solution was honored as the champion Ohio-bred 3-year-old male of 2019, the champion Ohio-accredited male of 2019, and the champion handicap horse and accredited male of 2020. The 7-year-old gelding, who has earned nearly three-quarters of a million, is coming off a victory in the George Lewis Memorial Stakes on the Ohio Derby undercard last month at Thistledown. Under Jeffrey Sanchez, he came through on the inside turning for home and won by a neck over Relish the Ride, with Big Truck another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. Both of those foes are back to face Mobil Solution in the Buckeye Native, and he will again have Sanchez in the irons for trainer Jeffrey Skerrett.

The George Lewis was Mobil Solution’s 10th stakes victory, and he has finished second or third in 13 other stakes races.

Big Truck was the 2021 champion Ohio-accredited male. Trained by Larry Smith, he owns two stakes victories – most recently the Ruff/Kirchberg Memorial Handicap last year at Mahoning Valley – and twice has been second or third in stakes.

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The Buckeye Native takes place at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, not the preferred surface of Mobil Solution, who has one third from three starts on the grass. Big Truck has never started on the turf.

An alternative to the statebred champions could be Manga Man, who won the 2019 Green Carpet Stakes and was third in the Horizon Stakes on the Belterra turf.

Earlier on the card, a field of six juveniles made up of three winners and three maidens will contest the Hoover at 5 1/2 furlongs. All three maiden winners are trained by Tim Hamm and owned by him and WinStar Farm.

Perhaps the best among the Hamm trio is Fair and Square, who finished third on debut June 1 at Belterra before scoring a 5 1/4-length victory on June 29 at Thistledown. His Beyer Speed Figure of 62 in that five-furlong race is easily the best in this field. Both of his outings have been against open company.

Grand Isle was third to Fair and Square on debut before posting a front-running 9 3/4-length victory on July 12 against statebreds at Thistledown. He went six furlongs in that win. Rounding out Hamm and WinStar’s trio is Excitement, a debut winner against statebreds going this 5 1/2-furlong distance on June 28 at Thistledown.

Rounding out the field are the maidens John Grey, the 9-5 morning-line favorite off a second and a fourth in maiden races at Churchill Downs; I Strong, with two thirds in three starts, all at Presque Isle; and Rouge Tu Riches, sixth in his only start.